Halloween is long gone (it’s been three weeks), and that makes me a sad Sylent Mari. I’m bummed out that my plans for posting a new article each day up until and the day of were foiled once again by…every random thing you can think of. On the plus side – I’ve got a new boss at work who’s a fellow geek that likes a lot of the same things that I do, and Firefly fans – he’s a Browncoat! And a fellow Whedonite and part of the Clone Club (Orphan Black fans). I lucked out on the New Boss Lottery for sure.

But y’all don’t mind if I still publish a few belated posts in honor of my favorite holiday/celebratory day, right? I’m posting some of the major articles starting this weekend, with The Simpsons making their first appearance in the belated countdown and getting a long-deserved shout-out on Geeky Voyage. When the show first aired back in 1989, I was eight. Sure, I’ve admitted my real age on here (not the first time), but to this day I can still watch and enjoy The Simpsons and feel like that little girl that fell in love with the show when I first saw it (thanks, Dad!).

One of my favorite things about Halloween and The Simpsonsis seeing what television shows, films, novels, etc. the show will tackle & reference in the yearly tradition known as the annual Treehouse of Horror episode. Always a fan highlight no matter how “meh” the seasons have been in recent years, there’s always something funny and spooky (for the kiddos in the audience) in these episodes that pay tribute to the macabre. It’s also quite fun to watch what type of wacky scenarios for our favorite animated family encounters and hopefully survive the outcome. I missed this year’s episode because I was mentally preparing myself for the Lost Girlfinale that aired on the same night (still not over that finale), but I’ve seen all of the episodes throughout the many years the show’s been on. Episodes that I really liked are marked below and even have my special brand of somewhat-witty commentary.

So why do I (and a decent amount of the world’s population) enjoy the Treehouse of Horror episodes? ‘Cause there’s TONS of pop culture references from all over popular media that can be seen in each episode. The fun in watching an episode is trying to see how many references you spot and recognize, and many will slip by you unnoticed. That’s why I’ve included the nifty Wikipedia link right below so that you can identify and go “ahh!” when you recognize the ones that surprised you, or the ones you’re experiencing for the first time.

If you’re in the mood to binge-watch these episodes, it’ll take you roughly thirteen hours to watch all twenty-five of them. It’s a great way to spend a day off or scare your little ones if you have them. Not that I’m encouraging parents to frighten their little ones with slightly-horrific cartoons, but get them ready for real-life horrors at a young age. Totally kidding…ish.

I do apologize for the quality of some of the videos that you’ll see below, all grabbed from YouTube and uploaded from some very kind uploaders. The videos give you a small glimpse of each episode, which you should watch. Make it a new Halloween tradition in your family or your eclectic group of friends. Take a gander at the guide below to check out the list of all the Treehouse of Horror episodes that have aired so far over the past twenty-five (!) years.

If you’ve never seen this Simpsons episode, you have to watch it because it’s a series highlight and a favorite of my fellow X-Philes. This fan-favorite episode features Leonard Nimoy, Gillian Anderson, and David Duchovny in a story that combines the popular “unsolved cases” TV shows from the 1990’s and The X-Files.

Leonard Nimoy (R.I.P.) plays the host of a TV show that features a case involving Homer Simpson and his close encounter with a purported “alien” that he encounters after a drunken night out. Which is like every night for Homer. The FBI takes an interest in the mystery, with Fox Mulder & Dana Scully making an appearance in Springfield as they question Homer and his friends and family about what he saw that night. So – was it really an alien that Homer encountered? You’re going to have to watch to find out the truth, ‘cause it is out there, you know…

Easily a fan-favorite episode and one of the best episodes from the earlier seasons, “The Springfield Files” deserves a name drop in this list because it was too good of an episode to pass up. There’s lots of funny scenes between Mulder, Scully and Homer that can’t be missed, and there’s also a small subplot featuring Moe trying to smuggle out an orca that he has in a backroom at his bar that’s absurd and too good to pass up. The scene where he’s running across a field with his associates as they carry the orca and are spotted by Scully is one of my personal highlights.

Favorite scene:

With the Cigarette Smoking Man standing in the background, Scully is preparing to ask Homer some questions with the aid of a lie detector. He fails the first question in epic fashion, as only he can. Oh, Homer!

Pop Culture References: Author W.W. Jacobs and The New Twilight Zone’s “A Small Talent for War” (“The Monkey’s Paw”), The Twilight Zone’s “It’s a Good Life” (“The Bart Zone”), Frankenstein, The Thing with Two Heads (“If I Only Had a Brain”).

Pop Culture References:The Twilight Zone’s “Living Doll” (“Clown Without Pity”), King Kong (“King Homer”), famous people including George Washington, Albert Einstein, and William Shakespeare, among a few others (“Dial ‘Z’ for Zombie”).

Random Musing: “Homer3 (Homer Cubed)” was my favorite segment from this episode when I first caught it as a 14-year-old (!!!). 20 years later (egads! It’s been that long and wow do I feel old…), that’s been pushed aside for “Nightmare on Evergreen Terrace” because it pays homage to my favorite horror franchise. Groundskeeper Willie is quite creeptastic as the Freddy Krueger-esque dream killer in the segment, and it holds up quite well today.

Pop Culture References: I Know What You Did Last Summer (“I Know What You Diddily-Iddily-Did”), Lucy Lawless and her most famous alter-ego, Xena, and Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (“Desperately Xeeking Xena”), Dick Clark and his New Year’s Rockin Eve, and many special guests including radio personality Dr. Laura, scandalous former skating champion Tonya Harding, former MTV VJ/actor/comedian Paulie Shore, Courtney Love, actor Tom Arnold, former presidential candidate Ross Perot, and Rosie O’Donnell.

Favorite Segment: “Desperately Xeeking Xena”

Random Musing: Lucy Lawless as herself and as Xena in the same segment = geekdom galore. Did you know that Lucy Lawless can fly? It says so in the episode, so it’s gotta be true. Lucy Lawless is the shit.

Treehouse of Horror XVII – November 5, 2006Episodes: “Married to the Blob” / “You Gotta Know When To Golem” / “The Day the Earth Looked Stupid”

Pop Culture References:Tales from the Crypt (opening sequence), The Blob and Sir Mix-A-Lot (“Married to the Blob”), The Golem (“You Gotta Known When To Golem”), Orson Welles and The War of the Worlds (“The Day the Earth Looked Stupid”).

Pop Culture References:Transformers (“Untitled Robot Parody”), random famous people including George Clooney, Prince, and Neil Armstrong (“How to Get Ahead in Dead-vertising”), It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (“It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse”).

Favorite Segment: “It’s the Grand Pumpkin, Milhouse”

Treehouse of Horror XX – October 18, 2009Episodes: “Dial ‘M’ for Murder or Press ‘#’ to Return to Main Menu” / “Don’t Have a Cow, Mankind” / “There’s No Business Like Moe Business”

Pop Culture References:Strangers on a Train (“Dial ‘M’ for Murder or Press ‘#’ to Return to Main Menu”), mad cow disease – not a pop culture reference, but relevant to the segment (“Don’t Have a Cow, Mankind”), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (“There’s No Business Like Moe Business”).

Random Musing: The only time I’ll ever admit to liking anything related to Twilight is if it’s a Twlight parody, which this episode offers. Also featuring the voices of Daniel Radcliffe and Hugh Laurie as our son-and-father team-up in the segment.

Random Musing: Easily my favorite opening sequence. Guillermo del Toro adds so many references to his inspirations and films that it’s fun to try and see how many you spot. Can you guess them all? I have to give him a billion geek points for adding Cthulu to the opening sequence, as an homage to his biggest passion project that I hope sees the light of day soon, in several years, or at least before I die: In the Mouth of Madness.

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Published by Sylent Mari

I'm a 30-something computer tech/fangirl/all-around geek living deep in the American Southwest. Writing is my passion, a hobby, a full-time job, and my mistress. You can read my quirky musings on all things pop culture and fandom-related at http://geekyvoyage.com.
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